With the next generation of gaming in its early stages, we haven't forgotten about the current consoles. Here are some of our GameCore favorites for this holiday season.
PS2
"Scarface" - Tony Montana is making a come back. Based on the popular 80s movie, in the game you play as Tony in a rewrite of the ending. The game picks up from the infamous final scene where Tony is gunned down in his mansion. There are many GTA style missions to go on throughout Miami providing loads of fun. Great graphics, a solid storyline, and very funny Tony Montana audio sound bites, most of which can't be repeated on this site, make this a more than decent PS2 title."Justice League Heroes" - Choose you superhero, literally. In Justice League Heroes you can choose from the some of your favorite Justice League characters such as Batman, Superman, and Wonder women and you can even customize your character. Stages are massive with many rooms and power ups throughout. This game is best played in a two player format cooperatively where you and another player can both tackle the missions together. Justice League Heroes is perfect for the DC comics fan in your life.Madden NFL Football 07 - No Football season would be complete without letting you fight it out with your friends in your own fantasy league set up. Madden NFL Football 07 gives you even greater control by setting you up as the lead blocker to create holes which has never done in previous versions. You can also take control of the tailback and smash through, overpower or simply slash away from would-be blockers. Earning a yard will be that much more difficult. This game is rated 'E' for everyone. "SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Combined Assault" - Combined Assault is a solid update to the SOCOM series featuring a new multiplayer campaign mode. Now you can go online with three of your friends and complete the missions together. All of the original features such as challenging missions and online play are still intact. This is still a solid military based action adventure game and never disappoints. Read the full review here."Yakuza" - By far one of the most addictive games of 2006, Yakuza keeps you busy for hours. Based on one of Japan's most notorious gangs, you play as a former member trying to piece together a series of weird events leading to the kidnapping of a young girl and a mission $100 million. Frequent fight scenes, constant action and some pretty fun side games make Yakuza a must have this holiday season. Read the full review here.NBA Live 07 - NBA Live continues its tradition of bringing the basketball experience in your home and in your hands. Now you can take your game to the next level in NBA LIVE 07. With all-new EA SPORTS(tm) Total Freestyle Control and revolutionary gameplay you can perform cross-overs, pick and rolls, screens, steels and dunks with even more realism than its predecessor. This game is rated 'E' for everyone.God of War II - Kratos, the newly appointed God of War, trumped Ares to take on this new roll. In order to fix his tormented soul however, Kratos once again embarks on new adventure. In order to combat the hordes of evil that no God or mortal should ever be forced to face, Kratos uses his trusty combos from God of War along with a whole new bag of destructive goodness to judiciously impart on his enemies. Complete with new puzzles, characters, weapons, God of War II opens up more of the dark violent world of Greek Mythology. This game is targeted to the 18+ audience and the rating is still pending.PC
"Microsoft Flight Simulator X" - By far one of the most realistic flight sim games available. Tons of free flight opportunities lets gamers explore the friendly skies with ultra realistic graphics. Airports feature jaw dropping detail and a sharp graphical presentation you can actually see moving automobiles and trucks on the roads below. With 30 missions in the standard version, and 18 planes to choose from you can literally spend hours on this game."Company of Heroes" - Arguably this is one of the best RTS available for the PC today. The story is centered on the Allied push into German-occupied Normandy in 1944. Great battles in the single player campaign and very smooth gameplay make this title fun. You can even play online with others in ranked and unranked matches. Be your own General and make all the decisions. "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter" - Released back in May, Advanced Warfighter is one of the best the in the Ghost Recon series. Taking place in Mexico, you have to rescue the Presidents of Mexico and the US after they were taken by Mexican rebels. Easy controls, and great graphics make this one a winner. GRAW, is one of the few PC games that take full advantage of the AGEIA PhysX card for more advanced physics effects. While you wait for Rainbow Six: Las Vegas, GRAW is a solid pick up. "Aces High II" - You've probably seen the commercial to this game somewhere. It's a very unique online game. Playing Aces High you can fly combat missions against other players from around the world. All of the most famous WWII fighter planes are available including the B-17 and P-51. You don't even need a super modified PC to play it on, a 1GHz Pentium 4, a flight stick, and at least 128MB of video memory is the minimum to run it. It works great with the Saitek Aviator, which is a low cost PC joystick. Although this game has been out for sometime, it still makes our list for the mere fact that it is one of the best WWII era multiplayer online games. The full download is available on www.flyaceshigh.com. Your account is free, but subscription fees apply.
By Chad Chamberlain, Alejandro K. Brown and Cory Shim